The number of coronavirus deaths in New York state more than doubled in 72 hours to 1,941, and Gov Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday that projections show the outbreak worsening through the month, AP reports.

The sobering news from the governor came as he pledged to close New York City playgrounds to slow the spread of the virus, leaving green spaces open. He said overburdened hospitals in hard-hit downstate areas have begun transferring patients north to the Albany area.

A man wearing a surgical mask reads the newspaper on the sidewalk in the Bushwick section of the Borough of Brooklyn on March 31, 2020, in New York. A military hospital ship arrived in New York on March 30 as America's coronavirus epi-centre prepares to fight the peak of the pandemic that has killed over 2,500 people across the US. The navy's 1,000-bed USNS Comfort entered a Manhattan pier around 10:45am. It will treat non-virus-related patients, helping to ease the burden of hospitals overwhelmed by the crisis. — AFP
A man wearing a surgical mask reads the newspaper on the sidewalk in the Bushwick section of the Borough of Brooklyn on March 31, 2020, in New York. A military hospital ship arrived in New York on March 30 as America's coronavirus epi-centre prepares to fight the peak of the pandemic that has killed over 2,500 people across the US. The navy's 1,000-bed USNS Comfort entered a Manhattan pier around 10:45am. It will treat non-virus-related patients, helping to ease the burden of hospitals overwhelmed by the crisis. — AFP

A month after New York discovered its first infection, the state tallied more than 83,000 positive cases. The 1,941 deaths were up from 965 on Sunday morning.

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